By Logan, founder of HVAC Marketing HQ · Updated Oct 12, 2026The honest answer: enough to beat the shops above you
You'll find blog posts with a magic number. Google doesn't publish one. What it does say is that review count and rating are part of how prominent your business looks, and prominence is one of the three things local ranking depends on (see how the map pack works).
So the useful comparison is local. Search your main service and your town, look at the three shops in the map pack, and note their star rating, how many reviews they have and how old their newest review is. That's your bar. Our free report card does exactly this comparison against the top three shops in your search.
Why recent reviews matter more than a big total
Homeowners read the newest reviews first, and a profile whose last review is five months old looks like a business that slowed down. A steady flow also protects you: one bad review lands among several good ones instead of sitting on top for weeks.
A busy shop finishes jobs every day. If reviews arrive once a month, the problem isn't your work, it's that nobody is asking.
How to ask without nagging
- Ask right after the job, while the house is cool again. A text with a direct link to your review form works better than asking on the spot.
- Ask everyone, the same way, every time. Make it automatic when a job is marked done so it never depends on someone remembering.
- Keep it short and from a real person: "Thanks for having us out today. If we did right by you, a quick Google review helps a lot."
- One reminder at most. Then stop.
Review gating: the practice to avoid
Some review tools first ask "How did we do, 1 to 5?" and send only the 4s and 5s to Google, while the 1s, 2s and 3s go to a private form. It's sold as a feature. It's against Google's rules. Google's Maps content policy says businesses may not "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers." Reviews that break the policy can be removed.
We ask every customer the same way and never filter. If a customer is unhappy, the right move is to fix the job and reply to the review, not hide it.
What to do about a bad review
- Reply within a day or two, calmly. Thank them, say what you'll do, and take it offline with a phone number.
- Don't argue the details in public. The next customer is reading your reply more than their review.
- Only flag a review for removal if it breaks Google's rules (fake, spam, off-topic or abusive). Disliking it isn't enough.
- Keep asking every customer. Fresh good reviews put one bad one in context.
Should you reply to every review?
Yes. Google says replying shows customers you value them. It also gives you a chance to mention the service and town naturally ("Glad we got your heat pump running in Hewitt"), which reads better to the next homeowner than a stock "Thanks!".
Free report card: your Google profile, reviews, website and listings graded against the shops near you.
The 40-point HVAC online scorecard
Website, Google profile, reviews and follow-up. Print it, check yes or no, add up your score. We'll email you the printable PDF.
Questions
Can I offer a discount for a review?
No. Google's policy doesn't allow offering incentives for reviews, and the FTC's 2024 review rule also covers paid reviews that require a certain sentiment.
Can my employees or family leave reviews?
They shouldn't. Reviews should come from real customers. Google can remove reviews it sees as a conflict of interest.
Do star ratings below 5.0 hurt me?
Not much, and a perfect 5.0 from a few reviews can look less believable than a 4.8 from hundreds. Volume and recency matter.